Do you live in Florida?

[Amina516]

Just wondering.

How is it?

Lol. Reason I ask is that I may be moving down there sometime in the future, centralish area. In laws are in Kissimmee.

Love it hate it? Anywhere in particular that just rocks? Should I stay where I am (Penn.)?

The move wouldnt be for a longish while and Id have to line up work before i got there, so thats not something i need to do at the moment.

Any thoughts?

[NightAngel]

I lived in Florida for 10 years- absolutely loved every minute of it and plan on returning eventually.

Right now what you need to be aware of is the job market/recession there is incredibly bad in some areas. Hence, why I no longer live there.

I hear it gets hot/humid inland- I lived on the gulf coast and it was very pleasant/temperate year round.

[Mike Taylor]

What part of Florida are you moving to? North Florida is very different from Central and South Florida.

[Amina516]

Right now what you need to be aware of is the job market/recession there is incredibly bad in some areas. Hence, why I no longer live there.

Ive read that on another board i frequent. Kinda scary, but I wouldnt leave here without having something lined up down there. And it wont be for a while anyways.

What part of Florida are you moving to? North Florida is very different from Central and South Florida.

Most likely central. Inlaws are there and theres a school hubby is interested in also.

The humidity scares me....lol

[NightAngel]

Central coast of Florida is where I lived near Tampa. Like I said, if you live on the coast the humidity isn't too bad. The constant gulf breeze is what keeps it moderate I think.

[CaptainJaneway]

i am to planning to move to florida in a couple of years. the job i am with has stores down there so i could transfer and not worry to much about finding a job. Though i would look for a full time office job and keep my other job partime.

I do want to ask about hurricanes and what areas are affected the most.

I do like orlando it seems very nice. I have been there twice. Making another trip down there next week for vacation.

The first time i went though was the end of july beginning of august and the humidty and heat was horrible. lol This was in orlando.

The second time we went was in october. The weather was nice and cool. also went to daytona and that was nice to be near the beach.

[tropicsgoddess]

North Florida is very different from Central and South Florida.

You got that right. I'm in South Florida and to be honest, the cost of living isn't exactly cheap and to top that the job market SUCKS! If you're all about the action, then South Florida is where it's at.

[NightAngel]

The cost of living wasn't cheap in the Clearwater area either.

As for hurricanes:
In the time I was there several passed near to us but we usually just got the outter edge of them. Every once in a blue moon we might loose power for part of a day but not very often.

The outter edges I experienced were no worse or scarier than storms here in Missouri can get.

The good thing about hurricanes is that you know they're coming days before they get to you.

Here in MO we have tornados that drop suddenly, without warning, out of the sky.

So, eh.

[draggar]

One great part of Kissemee - you can make an afternoon trip to Disney, Universal, or SeaWorld (and season passes for those pay for themselves in a coupld of visits).

We're in Ft Lauderdale and can do an attraction as a (long) day trip or a wekeend to Orlando.

You got that right. I'm in South Florida and to be honest, the cost of living isn't exactly cheap and to top that the job market SUCKS! If you're all about the action, then South Florida is where it's at.

Saying that the job market here sucks would actually insinuate that there IS a job market. As for action, yeah, there is always a place to have a good time. SoBe, Keys, etc..

[thegiraffe]

I live near Orlando (kinda), and have for almost 20 years. Let's see...it's HOT and humid from usually March through October, and then warm in February and December. You will likely rarely see temperatures below 40. The complaining starts around 60, coats come out around 55, and the downright whining sets in around 50.

Kissimmee isn't hugely populated. Downtown/Metro Orlando, Dr. Phillips/Conway area, around UCF, International Drive, and the Colonial Drive areas are hugely populated. Way OVER populated, in fact. I'd rather live in PA than Orlando to be honest! The suburbs are a lot more...manageable than the city area though.

Everything about the job market is correct. There isn't one. There hasn't been one for about a year. The economy is in real rough shape down here, and we're not seeing signs of improvement.

However, the beaches are close. Lots of things are nearby (we don't go to Disney every weekend contrary to popular belief!) and available. However, practically NOTHING is free. I'm not sure if you're near Philly or not, but they have free things there. DC has free things. Even NYC has free things. Orlando? No free things. You have to pay to park on the stinking beach!

I'm kind of getting tired of Florida (though I guess I didn't realize how tired of it I am!). There are nice parts, but I encourage you to check out (a) job market, and (b) the area before moving.

Good luck!

[Jester]

Florida is not one place, but many. So to ask how living in Florida is, well, it depends what part you are talking about. You say central Florida, so you should talk to people in that area, of course. I can only tell you about the parts I have some familiarity with. Which would be the Keys.

I've lived in Key West (and thus the Keys) for ten years now. If you have any question about Key West, I can probably answer it, and if I don't know the answer, it is almost a certainty that one of my friends, colleagues, or associates do. I will tell you that KW has not been hit as hard by the recession as many other places, and I have been able to afford some small vacations in the last year. Some people say KW is recession-proof, as tourists from somewhere are always coming here. That seems to be at least partially true, but from what I have seen recently, it is far better to HAVE a job here than to be LOOKING for one. We have been getting a lot more applications in the last few months than we would normally, as anyone with half a brain down here makes a point of not losing their job or leaving it without a new one lined up. Honestly, I do not understand the continuous line of people that have been moving here without a job lined up. As for the rest of the Florida Keys, I am much more familiar with Key West than the other Keys, but I could probably answer a fair amount of questions about them, too.

Now, I have spent small amounts of time in Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Daytona, Jacksonville, Tampa/Clearwater, Fort Myers, and Lake City, but only feel qualified to talk at length about the Keys.

Quick takes on the other parts I have spent time in recently.....

Lake City: Redneck Central. Boring. No night life. If you are just looking for a sleepy place to live and listen to country music, it's not that expensive, and I suppose not that horrible....*I* could never live there, but you and I may well have different priorities in our lives.

Fort Myers/Fort Myers Beach: I love FMB. LOVE it. It's kind of like a Key Westy kind of place without the prices of KW. Of course, from what I saw in my recent vacay there, the FM area (and FMB especially) has been hit rather hard by the recession. While I was making pretty decent money in September (a time we normally refer to as "Sleeptember"), my counterparts in FMB said it was just a desolate, empty place at that time. Not good for a beach/tourist area.

Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood: I have a friend who recently lost her job up there, and has been looking for work since. From what I could gather from my short time there and from talking to her and others, this area is not doing as well as KW, but is not doing that badly either.

The rest of FL, I couldn't really comment on. But again, wherever you decide to go, remember that Florida is not just one place, it is many, so you need to talk to the people who are living in the part of the state you plan to go to.

Good luck!

[Mike Taylor]

You got that right. I'm in South Florida and to be honest, the cost of living isn't exactly cheap and to top that the job market SUCKS! If you're all about the action, then Southeast Florida is where it's at.

Had to make a small correction. Over here on the western side of "the Alley" there ain't much going on as far as nightlife. You are correct, though. It's more cost effective to rent an apartment down here than it is to own a house. The job market is highly variable from city to city. For instance, my employer and one of its competitors are opening new stores in different areas.

[Jester]

Over here on the western side of "the Alley" there ain't much going on as far as nightlife.

Really? I've seen some fun times in Tampa, and Ybor City is legendary. Had a blast in Clearwater Beach, too. And I can speak rather highly of the FMB nightlife from recent personal experience. Can't comment on Naples, though, or much of the rest of the Gulf Coast. And no, it isn't Miami....but let's face it, very often, not being Miami is a positive!

[Rine]

Be thankful you aren't coming to NW FL. I mean, it has it's bright spots (like good music scene, so-so nightlife), but the job economy sucks right now. We rely on a mix of tourism and the military...so it's not all that great at the moment. Pretty rural for the most part, hot, rainy (P'cola ranks in the top ten rainest cities in the lower 48), and damn humid.

It's strange how different NW FL is from the rest of the state. Sometimes I feel like we aren't even in the same state.

[mandaliz8704]

I was born in Florida, and I've lived here my whole life. I live in Port St. Lucie now. I'm about 45 minutes north of West Palm Beach on the east coast. Absolutely nothing to do in PSL, there are some businesses here but it's mainly a commuter town.

I've lived all over the Southeast coast, though... anywhere from Ft. Lauderdale to Jupiter. Most of that was when I was younger so I don't really have much of an opinion on it... but I can say that after living in Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties, I would never live in Broward again. I like space and some quiet, and there isn't really much of that to be found down there.

West Palm is nice, but I would recommend going pretty far west of town. Royal Palm Beach or Wellington. Jupiter is also nice, and is pretty much the northernmost end of Palm Beach County. North of that is Hobe Sound, Stuart, and Port St. Lucie. Stuart isn't bad, its not as "urban" as West Palm, but not rural either. Its relatively laid back. Hobe Sound is where old fishermen go to die. Stay away. :lol

Most of the towns along the east coast are pretty different from each other... they all have a different feel. Keep in mind, though... the further north you go, the cheaper it gets (with obvious exception to Orlando)

Humidity? GAWD yes. Its stifling in the summer.

Anyway, just my opinions.